The Saturday Paper reported last week that the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's IT overhaul, intended to underpin aged care reforms coming in on 1 November, is behind schedule and may not be completed until April next year.
The 2024-25 Federal Budget allocated more than $1.4 billion for upgrades to the Government's aged care systems, including funding for the Government Provider Management System (GPMS), a central component of the incoming reforms.
Even prior to the June announcement to delay reforms from July to November, the Government announced in February that 'critical elements' of the new system would not be ready until 2026.
Uncertainty about the readiness of the Government's IT systems comes amid a blowout in Government IT spending. US software provider Salesforce now has Government contracts related to the GPMS of about $50 million, The Saturday Paper reported.
Regardless of the Government's IT systems, providers have to build their own new systems to accommodate the reforms, and time is running out for them to receive Government specifications for vendors.
Roald Versteeg (pictured), Ageing Australia General Manager Policy and Advocacy, told The Weekly SOURCE that providers need three months' lead time.
“We will continue to maintain the pressure for finalised information, well before [1 November], to give providers time to prepare for service transition, so that they can continue to provide quality services for older Australians," he said.
“Above all, providers need certainty in the face of such sweeping reforms. We’ve been very clear that we will need at least 12 weeks to prepare as a bare minimum once all the rules are finalised.”
That leaves the Government only one month to provide the necessary detail.
The DOHDA did not respond to The Weekly SOURCE's questions.
